As you pack up you car in anticipation of the drive to the other side of the mountains, the feeling is best described as bittersweet. Pullman is a hard place to leave, but there is a sliver of excitement that lies in knowing you're finally going to be in a populated city. As you prepare for your 5+ hour journey, you either feel excited to spend some quality time with yourself and your best friends, or extremely uncomfortable because the kid you offered a ride to seems uncomfortably awkward.
The drive begins and the first landmark you see is Colfax. You're only allowed to drive 25 mph through this small little town, and if you don't the cops will happily give you a ticket. Colfax is literally Radiator Springs from the Pixar movie Cars.
Looking around for the rest of the drive, the only thing you can really think about is who the f*ck actually lives here and where is your closest neighbor?
An hour and a half in, your passengers are beginning to doze off. Your music has changed to a slow song. The lyrics are really speaking to you. You begin to contemplate your life.
Then, off in the distance you see the COUG BARN. You struggle to take a photo and not crash in the process. Then you accidentally cross the center line and hear the dreadful sound of your tires going over the rivets on the road. The people who were asleep are definitely awake now.
As you pass through Othello and Royal City, you kind of feel bad for all the people living in little trailers and sh***y homes.
When you finally return your attention to the music, you realize you have gone through so many songs that you somehow ended up on 80's music.
Suddenly, the music cuts out. No cell tower anywhere in sight. The only music option, unless you want to sit in silence with that awkward kid in your back seat, is the music on your iPod. Unfortunately, the last time you downloaded music on your iPod was 2010.
The drive is fine until you smell something foul. Hundreds of cows are lined up against the fence trying to fight the other cows to get food. It is like that game where you try to hold your breath all the way through the tunnel, except with higher stakes because it smells so bad you might throw up.
Eventually, you make it to Vantage. This marks the halfway point, thank goodness! The Columbia River is gorgeous with its water glistening in the sun. There's that little bubble of excitement in your belly because it's 70 mph for pretty much the rest of the trip.
After Vantage, you get to see all the windmills! Some people think they are pretty, some think they aren't, but we all know that means we're a little closer to home.
At Ellensburg, you take the exit to grab some food. The options are endless; Subway, Wendy's, McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Starbucks.
You get your food, gas, and any bathroom breaks out of the way. Once you get back in the car, it is full speed ahead for the last two-hour stretch home.
Slowly, you get closer to the mountains and you can see all the green trees in the distance. The air starts to smell different. (Maybe it is just me, but I think the west side smells so much better).
The mountains take way longer than expected to get through. Each turn you are hoping is the last, but sadly, it's not the case. Finally, you get through.
Your last stop might be in Issaquah or you might continue all the way up to Tacoma. Regardless of where you are going, the end of the mountains is considered being “home."
This drive is simultaneously painful, boring, awkward, breathtaking and nerve-racking. But, it will be missed once you no longer have to make it. I will not miss getting pulled over by a cop, but there is a unique kind of beauty in the rolling hills of the Palouse and the glistening waters of the Colombia River.
